| COUNSEL 


| TO NEW 
MISSIONARIES 


The Board of Foreign Missions 
of the 


__ Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. 
~ 156 Fifth Avenue, New York 
1925. 








COUNSEL 


TO NEW 
MISSIONARIES 


by 
William N. Wysham 
Acting Candidate Secretary 


The Board of Foreign Missions 
of the 


Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. 
: 156 Fifth Avenue, New York 


1925 


ab 





L/ENVOI 


Now you for whom this book has 
been written are like that man tn 
the Bible who, having found a field 
with a treasure hid in tt, sells all 
that he has to buy that field. And 
we who watch you go away to pos- 
sess your field and to dig for your 
treasure—wish you well. We say 
to you, as the Bulu of Africa say to 
those of their friends who start out 
on a propitious journey: 

“The fortunate ones are going! 

Let them go!” 


And we say to you, as the Christian 
Bulu say to the novice in the Chris- 
tian Way: 
“A Man goes before you on 
the path, it is the Lord Jesus.” 


JEAN KENYON MACKENZIE. 


XII 


CONTENTS 


Introduction . 

Physical Well-being 
Intellectual Life 

Language Study 

Spiritual Life 

The Missionary Home . 
Relation to Fellow Missionaries 
Other Field Relationships 

The Missionary and the Board 
Contact With the Home Church 
Temptations of the Missionary 
The Main Task 


The Abundant Life 


PAGE 


INTRODUCTION 


Missionaries of the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
are members of a choice and privileged com- 
pany. In entering the missionary fellowship 
they have measured up to high standards. They 
must live amid conditions which make taxing 
demands on every human resource; for that 
very reason they have an unparalleled oppor- 
tunity to show to the world the boundless re- 
sources of God. The life of the missionary is 
rich and varied; therefore no pains should be 
spared to enter upon it well-instructed. The 
missionary represents the spiritual peak of the 
Church’s aspirations, so that no personal idio- 
syncrasy, no prejudice, no carelessness should 
be permitted to mar the work of making Jesus 
Christ known to others as Savior and Lord. 


This little book has been written in the hope 
of making clear in advance some things about 
the duties, temptations and privileges of new 
missionaries. It makes no pretense to original- 
ity, but aims at a condensed summary of the 
wise advice of missionaries who have gone be- 
fore and of colleagues now active in the work. 
It is hoped that the booklet will not be read 
once and then thrown aside, but will be kept 
available for reference at least through the first 
term of service. For this reason blank pages 
have been added as an invitation to personal 
notes and comments which should prove more 
valuable than the text itself. 





LN eget e 


i cpht m Sea 





COUNSEL TO 
NEW MISSIONARIES 


I. PHYSICAL WELL-BEING 


When Henry Martyn landed in India and 
began his missionary work for Mohammedans, 
he exclaimed: ‘Now let me burn out for God.” 
His spirit was most laudable, but one wonders 
whether a little more care of his health might 
not have permitted him a long life of service 
instead of the seven short years before his 
broken body set his great soul free. Our work 
in this world must be done in the flesh, and 
neglect of our bodies means inefficient and cur- 
tailed service. “Nothing hinders a man half so 
much as dying.” 


1. Health Directions. So far as specific health 
directions are concerned, one can do no better 
than quote from the report of a special com- 
mittee of the Foreign Missions Conference of 
North America: 


DO follow conscientiously your Board’s recom- 
mendations concerning typhoid preventive in- 
oculation and small-pox vaccination. These 
diseases are very prevalent in Oriental coun- 
tries, and such simple preventive measures are 
invaluable. 


DO have a period of rest before your sailing time. 
The voyage may be restful or it may be other- 
wise. Don’t leave the time of rest for the 
voyage. 

DO have your teeth put in good condition shortly 
before leaving. Dental cleaning prevents py- 
orrhea and the consequent train of general 
disability. 


7 


DO have your eyes tested, and if glasses are 
needed, have them fitted by a competent ocu- 
list. An extra pair of glasses is advisable. 
Be sure to carry the prescription with you so 
that in case of need you can order new glasses 
on the field. A pair of tinted glasses is very 
helpful to protect against the glare of the 
tropical sun. 


DON’T visit too much during your last weeks in the 
homeland. Hurried travel from place to place 
with the necessary strain of visiting and reck- 
less (?) eating is not conducive to an ideal 
physical and nervous constitution. If there 
are little children in the group, numerous stop- 
overs en route to the coast should be avoided. 
The infectious diseases of childhood are pre- 
valent and your journey may be seriously 
interrupted if the little ones fall ill. Protect 
them. Go as directly as possible to your port 
of embarkation. 


DON’T start out with shattered nerves. If your college 
course or last months of training have been 
strenuous and trying, pause for some weeks 
for relaxation and rest. The frequent pro- 
gram of wedding ceremonies followed by 
visiting and traveling does not wisely follow 
an over-strenuous college term. 


DON’T abuse your digestion while enroute. Don’t 
abuse it at any time, but the temptation during 
travel is peculiarly seductive and must be re- 
sisted. Eat simple, wholesome meals. 


DON’T permit interruption in the regularity of your 
bowels. Constipation is a serious foe. Combat 
it by drinking pure water frequently, eating 
simple fruits abundantly, and by insisting upon 
regularity in habit. 

DON’T neglect regular exercise. A little thought 
even during long train trips can bring con- 
siderable activity to the body muscles that 
have not been accustomed to idleness. Especial- 
ly on board boat, insist on your constitutional 
walk, which should not be less than two miles 
a day. 


8 


DON’T drink unboiled or uncertified water. This 
rule can wisely be applied within the bounds 
of the United States while traveling, but it 
MUST BE applied in Oriental and other mis- 
sion countries. Cholera, dysentery, typhoid 
and other serious diseases are principally 
water born. Be on the alert. “The Old Oaken 
Bucket” is a thing of the past for you. Now 
it is the sterilized cup of lukewarm boiled 
water. Get the habit early. 


DON’T eat raw fruit sold by Oriental vendors. There 
are some exceptions in the case of those fruits 
whose outer covering has completely protected 
and preserved a sterile center within. But be 
sure in handling the fruit, or in opening it, 
you do not carry the germs to the edible por- 
tion. Certain fruits, like melons, are apt to 
cause intestinal irritation apart from the spe- 
cific germs they may harbor. Avoid such 
fruits on general principles. 


DON’T eat candies bought in Oriental cities unless 
certified by positive and competent authorities. 
They may appear clean and attractive but who 
knows their history? 


DON’T eat with unwashed hands. Infectious diseases 
are not adequately segregated in the Orient. 
The wares you handle in the shops may carry 
the contagion. 


DON’T expose yourself recklessly to the tropical sun. 
Tropical hats should be worn, beginning at 
Port Said for east-bound, and at Shanghai or 
Hongkong for west-bound travelers. Ladies 
should use light sunshades. The tropical sun 
is insidious in its effect upon the nervous 
system. Do not be guilty of bringing upon 
yourself heat prostration. 


DON’T be afraid in the presence of Oriental infections. 
Be cautious, be careful, be wise, but do not be 
anxious and fearful that contagion hangs over 
you like a vampire. Let us have sense in these 
matters, and let us also have courage. Anxiety 
is a foe whose long siege tactics win its deadly 
purpose where cholera would fail. 


ay 


DON’T fail to be tactful and courteous in trying to 
carry out these health precautions. Orientals 
are sensitive and accustomed to courtesy 
among themselves. Some Americans have a 
really offensive frankness. Help make the 
name “American” stand for courtesy and con- 
sideration. 


Some of these suggestions perhaps need 
special emphasis. It is frequently the habit of 
foreigners in the tropics, and even of some mis- 
sionaries, to ridicule the sun helmet, the mos- 
quito net, and the noonday nap. In most mis- 
sion lands all these are necessary, especially for 
the newcomer, to whom they seem the greatest 
nuisance. But the tropical sun is treacherous, 
the insects of mission lands are apt to be loaded 
with germs, and the average missionary needs 
more rest and sleep than at home. An hour or 
two on one’s back in the middle of the day is a 
great health-preserver. Tinted glasses have al- 
ready been mentioned. Crooks’ lenses or dark 
lenses of plain glass, if glasses are not ordi- 
narily worn, may not be necessary all the time, 
but are very valuable under certain conditions, 
as when traveling. Finally, one should remem- 
ber that temperatures often change rapidly and 
sudden chills are dangerous; that milk as well 
as water should be boiled unless its complete 
history is known; and that much raw fruit, until 
one is acclimated, is likely to have bad effects. 


2. The Health of Missionary Wives. The 
missionary wife should have a word of special 
advice. The first year on any mission field is 
apt to be a difficult one for her, since all sorts 
of new adjustments will be necessary. It is a 
fair question as to whether she should assume 


10 


the responsibility of motherhood during that 
first year. At least the wisdom of doing so 
would be considered very doubtful by many 
authorities, who urge that leaving the home- 
land, settling in a strange country, and learning 
a new language are experiences which involve 
all the physical and nervous strain that a young 
wife should be expected to undergo at the be- 
ginning of her missionary life. On the other 
hand, there are some who favor an entirely free 
and normal family life after arrival on the field. 
The question is therefore very much an indi- 
vidual one, depending on several factors, the 
essential point being that there is a serious 
problem involved, bearing on health, social re- 
lations, and mission work. Sympathetic and 
experienced advice should be sought from phy- 
sicians, particularly medical missionaries and 
the Board’s medical secretary, and from other 
missionaries of mature judgment. In this way 
the question should be squarely faced. The 
Board does not lay down any rulings, but it does 
urge the reasonableness of a well-weighed deci- 
sion for a real problem. 


3. Play. Missionaries who refuse to play 
are taking great health risks. By play is meant 
both regular exercise and recreation of other 
kinds. Exercise should have as definite a part 
in the daily program as food or sleep. In many 
countries tennis, the “national game” of mis- 
sionaries, can be played the greater part of the: 
year, and a stiff daily walk is always possible. 
The secret of the comparative good health of 
other foreigners in mission lands, even though 
they sometimes lead intemperate lives, is found 


11 


in their devotion to sport. The missionary can- 
not afford to be so busy that exercise is crowded 
out. 


Because many forms of diversion common in 
America are denied to missionaries, they must 
plan for definite recreation all the more syste- 
matically. The duties of missionaries are tre- 
mendously absorbing, but a normal life demands 
some relaxation unless nerves are to be put in 
danger and health jeopardized. Picnics, parties, 
musical programs, and social gatherings where 
“talking shop” is strictly taboo should be an 
established part of the life in every mission 
Station. One important contribution which 
fresh recruits can constantly be bringing to a 
Mission is a new breath of recreational life. 
Play is for the missionary an elixir of eternal 
youth and health. 


4. Worry. A prayerful cultivation of cheer- 
fulness and equanimity under adverse condi- 
tions should be one of the great aims of the mis- 
sionary. One might paraphrase the following 
motto for good health: “Disease has slain its 
thousands, but worry its tens of thousands.” 
Few missionaries today are exposed to the hard- 
ships of a generation:ago, but trying situations 
will have to be met, and a sensible, unfailing 
trust in God is the best weapon with which to 
meet them. It is easy for missionaries to become 
too fussy about avoiding disease germs, too 
apprehensive concerning possible danger to 
dear ones, too wrought up over the hostility of 
non-Christians or the growing-pains of the in- 
digenous Church. Unless missionaries fight 
manfully against anxiety, it can easily become 


12 


a menace to the health of body, mind, and soul. 
It is true, as some one has said, that: “As 
Christians we are not meant to be Atlases stag- 
gering under a load of care but children living 
in our Father’s house.” 


One special source of worry for Americans 
is the exasperating slowness of most non-Chris- 
tian peoples. It is a good thing for new mis- 
sionaries to remember that everything is likely 
to move more leisurely in their new environ- 
ment. To restrain impatience and the tendency 
to fret will be one of their most difficult lessons 
to learn. It will help them to look for the bene- 
fits and the charm of a civilization geared less 
highly than our own, and to consider whether 
we have not perhaps sacrificed something to 
the rush and roar of lifein America. Thus they 
may learn to appreciate in time Kipling’s lines: 


O it is not good for the Christian’s health 
To hustle the Aryan brown; 

For the Christian riles, and the Aryan smiles, 
And he weareth the Christian down. 

And the end of the fight is a tombstone white 
With the name of the late deceased, 

And the epitaph drear, “A fool lies here, 
Who tried to hustle the East.” 


Tie INFECCECTUAL LIFE 


Before going to the field, new missionaries 
should give careful consideration to the books 
they will take with them. They will probably 
live in places where they will be out of reach 
of the currents of their former intellectual 


13 


life. There are likely to be no libraries, con- 
certs, and lectures near them, and if, as is 
probable, their associates think much as they 
do on important problems, they will lack that 
mental stimulus which comes from a clash of 
ideas. To prevent mental stagnation, there- 
fore, they should possess well-chosen libraries 
of their own, and must determine to use them. 
The freight allowance will permit taking along 
all the really good books they possess, and the 
formidable outfit list should not prevent the 
financial outlay necessary to add some choice 
titles before sailing. 

When the field is reached, neither the pres- 
sure of language study nor the insistent de- 
mands of routine work should be allowed to 
interfere with the constant reading of good 
books and magazines. The missionary is usual- 
ly fortunate enough to be spared the daily 
newspaper, with its tendency to sordidness and 
trivialities, but he must be all the more careful 
to keep up with current events. Periodicals 
alone will not suffice, however, for nothing can 
take the place of good books. One suggestion 
is that “less than six new books a year means 
a slowing up of intellectual life.” This seems 
a pitiful total, and, the busiest missionaries 
should rather have as an ideal the example of 
a famous Board secretary, who, though he 
works under pressure year in and year out, yet 
finds time to do an incredible amount of worth 
while reading in odd moments. In some Sta- 
tions it is possible to form clubs through which 
good books can be purchased and passed around 
for all the members to read. Such a plan saves 
expense and acts as a spur to good reading. 


14 


The reading of missionaries should not be 
merely to keep up with current events, but with 
the progress of thought along important lines. 
They should consult with persons on the field 
or at home who are experts, in order to acquaint 
themselves with the most notable books that are 
published along the lines of their particular in- 
terests. It would be well to make a habit of 
preparing papers on solid, up-to-date books 
which they read, and discussing them with 
groups formed for the purpose. Every mis- 
sionary should resolve to try to advance some 
problem of his field towards solution during 
each term of service. There are too many mis- 
sionaries who do little or nothing in the way of 
constructive thinking. 

The missionary has incentives to a vigorous 
intellectual life, as well as temptations to mental 
stagnation. His work often offers opportun- 
ities for hard study and deep thought. No other 
department of missionary endeavor has been so 
neglected in almost every field as the literary 
work. In the best developed Missions much 
remains to be done, and in some lands the op- 
portunities for literary work are unparalleled. 
Any ability along this line can be made to bear 
rich fruit. Then many things about the natural 
resources, civilization, customs, art, literature, 
and religion of mission lands are still worthy 
of inquiry, and missionaries in the future, as 
in the past, can make real contributions to the 
world’s knowledge without neglecting their 
main task. There is no reason why every mis- 
sionary, by a just allotment of time to reading 
and a careful cultivation of the God-given tal- 
ent of curiosity, should not continue to grow in 


15 


intellectual breadth and power throughout the 
whole missionary life. 


III. LANGUAGE STUDY 


The great task of learning a new language is 
in itself a constant intellectual exercise. It can 
be a mental stimulus or a drudgery, a task of 
increasing interest and delight or an almost 
intolerable burden, according to the attitude 
with which the missionary enters upon it. Dr. 
Calvin W. Mateer, a master of the Chinese 
language, once made the statement that “every 
young missionary should consider it his or her 
special business to fall in love with the language 
as quickly as possible.” With such an attitude, 
no missionary need ever fail to learn a new 
language. 


Language study must be the one important 
task during the first two or three years on the 
mission field. If the back of the language is 
not broken in that time, it probably never will 
be. New missionaries who attend a language 
school are not subject to as many distractions 
as those who have private teachers, but all of 
them must keep reiterating: “This one thing 
I do; I will get the language.” Establishing 
a home abroad is a fascinating and time-absorb- 
ing task; it can easily rob language study of 
priceless hours. The urge to share almost at 
once in the work of the Mission is almost re- 
sistless ; yet those who yield to this temptation 
are likely to stammer their way through the 
rest of their missionary lives. Sometimes older 
missionaries, by appeals for help, make it hard 
for language students to give full time to their 


16 


study, but one can afford to seem unresponsive 
for a while, because nearly every Mission has 
gone on record in favor of language study as 
the main task for the first years. 


Far too many missionaries go to the field 
dreading the language, sometimes half-defeated 
before they begin to work on it. To such it may 
be pointed out that their unpleasant experience 
with dead languages in college is no criterion 
of what they will meet on the mission field. 
Even modern languages are too often taught 
in college in a way which gives only a reading 
knowledge of them. The new language will be 
throbbing with life; it comes to the student 
through personalities and not through tiresome 
books; it should be learned primarily by the 
ear and not by the eye. Language study can 
become a delightful game, with curious inflec- 
tions and interesting words to be caught and 
imitated, and fascinating idioms to be grasped 
and used with telling effect. Then, again, it is 
comforting to know that, in spite of the opinion 
that some languages are far more difficult than 
others, children in all lands learn to speak at 
about the same age. No genius for language is 
needed, no phenomenal memory, but mainly 
an ear eager to discern and analyze sounds, and 
a will which keeps one everlastingly at it until 
the language is mastered. 


Finally, missionaries must determine not 
merely to learn the language, but to learn it 
well. It is easy to be satisfied with an imper- 
fect knowledge. Wives, for instance, are likely 
to be content with a “domestic vocabulary” only. 
But they are fully appointed missionaries and 


17 


should aim not to fall a whit below their hus- 
bands in the language. Both men and women 
must determine to overcome all reluctance to be 
heard making mistakes and from the beginning 
use all the language at their command on every 
possible occasion. Children learn by practise 
and we are not likely to improve on their 
method. Then missionaries cannot afford mere- 
ly to speak the language; they must learn to 
read, and should be able to write well, if they 
are to do their best work. A temptation which 
comes to all is to relax effort after a mere 
working knowledge of the language has been 
obtained and thus miss that complete mastery 
which makes it an effortless vehicle for every 
thought. Surely a flawless accent and a rich 
and idiomatic vocabulary are the only adequate 
standards for those who strive to bring home a 
Gospel such as ours to new hearts and minds. 


IV; “SPIRITUALSLIEE 


The need of missionaries for spiritual power 
is so essential that it might almost be taken 
for granted, but for that very reason it requires 
special emphasis. Every missionary must fight 
for time to grow in the spiritual life. He faces 
constantly an almost irresistible pressure to let 
his multitudinous duties steal the time which 
should be given to his devotional life. He is 
usually out of touch with many of the spiritual 
stimuli of most Christians in America. His fel- 
low-missionaries and the indigenous Church are 
helpful, but such spiritual tonics as a variety of 
good preaching, sacred music of high quality, 
and inspirational conferences are often denied 
to him over long periods of time. He is, on the 


18 


other hand, surrounded by influences which 
tend constantly to depress his spiritual life. 
All the more earnestly, therefore, he can thank 
God that His wondrous gifts of the Bible and 
the privilege of prayer are sufficient to over- 
balance all these handicaps, and he must de- 
termine to save time for that close fellowship 
with Christ which alone can give him spiritual 
vigor. His devotional period must become a 
fixed and daily habit, whether at ease or under 
pressure, at home or abroad. Only in this way 
can he be assured of a source of spiritual power 
adequate for both the emergencies and the daily 
routine of his life. 


Those who walk daily with Jesus Christ will 
grow like Him, and only such can hope to 
exert a great influence on the people among 
whom they work. A life of habitual com- 
munion with Christ is as necessary for effective 
missionary work as for the spiritual health of 
the missionary himself. It must be a surren- 
dered life, from which personal ambition, the 
desire for applause, and all other forms of sel- 
fishness have been purged. It must be a life 
radiant with the love of Christ for sinful men, 
and reaching out to other lives in a spirit of 
complete friendliness and brotherhood. “Now 
the fruit of the spirit is love,” and the fruits 
of love in the life of the missionary are sure 
to be new souls drawn to Jesus Christ past all 
barriers of race and creed and sin. 


V. THE MISSIONARY HOME 


It is an exhilarating thought for new mis- 
sionaries that Christian homes on the mission 


19 


field are eloquent preachers of the Gospel, even 
when the hostility of the people or an imper- 
fect knowledge of the language hinder an 
aggressive presentation of Christianity. A 
Christian home compels the admiration of non- 
Christians everywhere. It is a living demon- 
stration of the matchless teachings of Jesus 
about women, about children, about purity, 
truth and love. No other phase of missionary 
work can surpass it as an opening wedge to 
reach those among whom we work. 


Since this is the case, it should be the ambi- 
tion of all missionaries to make their home life 
as ideal as possible. Missionary wives should 
not become so absorbed in the work of the 
Station that they neglect their homes. In fact, 
some women, hard pressed by the care of house- 
hold and children, make their greatest contri- 
bution to missionary achievement through their 
homes alone. The relationships in the home 
should be watched with meticulous care. Dif- 
ferences of opinion and heated discussions be- 
tween husband and wife, though they be ex- 
pressed in English, are perfectly intelligible to 
servants, and what one’s servants know, every 
one is likely to know. The care and discipline 
of children are oftentimes an exhibit which the 
whole community is observing. The contacts 
between a missionary family and its servants 
may be a large element in the influence which 
that family exerts for Jesus Christ. Only a 
home built absolutely on Him as its foundation 
can successfully meet such tests as these. 


Single women living together cannot afford 
to slight the upkeep of their home because of 


20 


other duties. Since many home tasks must be 
turned over to servants, all the more vigilance 
is required in order that the home spirit may 
be present. There is, moreover, usually a 
problem of personalities in this most difficult 
type of household, where women are forced to 
live together with nothing necessarily in com- 
mon except their love for the Lord and the 
work. Each individual has her own special 
training and ideals, and each believes her ways 
to be right. Each one strives whole-heartedly 
in the way she knows best to accomplish the 
common purpose of bringing others to Jesus 
Christ, and this very fact often adds to the 
difficulty. A pause to realize that the others 
have the same burning desire at heart will do 
much to maintain the atmosphere of love and 
consideration which so clearly shows the pres- 
ence of Christ. Then, since such a home should 
be a unit and not a place where but one or two 
of its members are striving to keep the home 
spirit, the women in the home should keep the 
love of Christ and His work uppermost by 
bringing to Him together each day the common 
problems and needs. The value of this cannot 
be overestimated. Non-Christians do not ex- 
pect to find real homes among single women; 
but as they come and see and understand, and 
go away murmuring that women who had never 
known each other before are living together as 
sisters and more than sisters, they gain a 
glimpse of what Christ can do. 

The missionary home can be a great evangel- 
izing force through the guests who enter it. 
If this is kept clearly in mind, wearying streams 
of callers will continue to be welcomed with 


21 


courteous hospitality and with that entire ab- 
sence of respect for persons which will make 
guests of all classes feel at ease. Many have 
realized for the first time what Christianity 
really means after a few hours spent within 
four modest walls, where good taste and refine- 
ment are quietly in evidence, and Christian love 
abounds. Songs and games and laughter, happy 
children, and the perfect comradeship of Chris- 
tian parents are weapons which can pierce the 
armor of any non-Christian heart. Mission- 
aries who build such homes as this and then 
unselfishly use them for others will not lack for 
opportunities to make Christ known. 


VI. RELATION TO FELLOW 
MISSIONARIES 


Missionaries working on the field together 
have at once one of the choicest and one of the 
most difficult relationships in the world. As 
common followers of one Lord, and sharing 
with each other their joys and sorrows in the 
closest fellowship, missionaries are knit together 
by a mutual loyalty and love hard to equal 
anywhere. Missionary friendships are superb 
in their intimacy and their lasting power. On 
the other hand, it is not hard to see that just 
because missionaries are thrown so much upon 
each other, there are potentialities of friction 
and misunderstanding which must be guarded 
against. The unit in most missionary work 
to-day is the Station, and in its highly coordi- 
nated life strong personalities are likely to clash, 
overworked men and women may become 
hyper-sensitive, and a peculiarity which is over- 


22 


looked in America may stand out like a sore 
thumb. 


In order that new missionaries may avoid 
the pitfalls and attain the privileges of “the 
goodly fellowship,” as it has been aptly called, 
some very practical suggestions are not out of 
place. 


1. Keep your opinions to yourself when you 
first reach the field, although you may feel sure 
that many things are not being done in the 
best way according to your more up-to-date 
knowledge. A private notebook is an excellent 
outlet for strong feelings in such cases. After 
a year or two, or even longer, your suggestions 
will be well ripened and will command atten- 
tion, if you then desire to express them at all. 


2. Make it the practice of your life not to 
criticize other missionaries even in thought. 
Interesting topics are often scarcer than they 
are at home, and the foibles of one’s fellow- 
workers seem juicy morsels for conversation. 
Yet you should avoid the temptation to gossip 
as you would the plague. A perfect compli- 
ance with this rule may seem impossible, but it 
is well worth striving for constantly. One man 
at least has the reputation that no missionary 
has ever heard him speak an unkind word about 
another in all his thirty years of service. What 
he has done, others may at least approximate. 


3. Keep your sense of humor ever to the 
fore. It is a good sixth sense to develop, if 
you were not born with it. A cheery word or 
laugh amid discouragements, or a perception 
of the ridiculous in a tense situation can often 


23 


save missionary relationships from tragedy. 
Your sense of humor will also prevent you from 
taking yourself too seriously, which is an easy 
thing for an earnest missionary to do. 


4, Play the game with all your might. Team- 
work is one of the indispensables of successful 
foreign missions. One old missionary, com- 
menting on the exceptional harmony in a Mis- 
sion which he and others had begun a half- 
century before, gave as their motto in the early 
days this phrase: “The vote of the Mission is 
the voice of God.” While not literally true, 
this is an admirable working rule. You must 
be ready to give and take, to school yourself 
in gracefully accepting the decision of the ma- 
jority, even though it may seem to wreck your 
cherished plan of years. If you see signs of 
the formation of parties or cliques in your 
Station or Mission, work quietly with all your 
might to dissipate them, for few things can do 
more harm. Only by such an attitude can you 
keep personalities out of Mission decisions, 
and do your part to preserve the delicate bal- 
ance of missionary relationships. With all this 
you should have a purpose never to lose your 
ideals for your Mission. Missions, like all 
institutions, tend to’ become very set in their 
ways and can only be shaken out of them by 
persons with both ideals and determination. 
There is no reason why such ideals, if pursued 
in a spirit of fellowship, should not be success- 
fully combined with teamwork qualities. 


5. Remember the esprit de corps of your 
calling, which should be the finest in the world. 
To build it up is worth far more than the ful- 


24 


fillment of any private dream. Too often we 
forget that Jesus Christ Himself is a member 
of the missionary fellowship; our ideal for it 
must be nothing less than He would have it be. 


VII. OTHER FIELD RELATIONSHIPS 


1. The Non-Christian Community. When 
new missionaries reach the field they are thrown 
more or less suddenly into an environment such 
as most of them have never experienced. As 
Americans they have been used to foreigners 
in their country, but now the tables are turned 
and they themselves have become foreigners. 
Some missionaries never fully perceive this, 
and the adjustment to the new situation is for 
alla most difficult one. In their attitude toward 
the customs, the politics, and the religious be- 
liefs of their adopted land, they will need a 
great deal of humility and courtesy. 


Virtues such as these are indispensable in 
contact with the customs of non-Christian 
countries. One’s attitude should be that of a 
learner rather than a critic, and the advice of 
older missionaries, though sometimes appar- 
ently old-fashioned, cannot wisely be disregard- 
ed if one wishes to avoid serious mistakes and 
unwitting breaches of etiquette. One should 
by all means conform to the proprieties of the 
land in every possible way. It is rarely wise 
for missionaries to live in native houses, or to 
wear native clothes and eat only native food. 
But in spite of these handicaps they must win 
and hold the respect of the people, although in 
doing so they are apt to find that courtesy may 
run afoul of sanitation and health risk. Shall 


25 


missionaries take the chances of insulting their 
hosts by refusing to eat and drink in their 
homes, or be polite and perhaps cut short their 
careers? Amid such problems a smile is mar- 
velously disarming. One must walk very softly 
and learn in exasperating situations to practise 
true courtesy always. This constant endeavor 
to understand, coupled with the ability to see 
the point of view of others, will win friends 
even where customs have differed for ages. 
Ambassador Page, in speaking of how to make 
international relationships ideal, said: “I have 
found that the first step is courtesy; that the 
second step is courtesy, and the third step—a 
fine and high courtesy.”* The contacts of mis- 
sionaries with other peoples should unquestion- 
ably be international relationships of the highest 
order. 


In relation to the politics of the country mis- 
sionaries should constantly keep in mind that 
their good influence will be lasting not because 
they are Americans but because they are Chris- 
tians. To gain prestige because of their nation- 
ality, to help converts out of difficulties in any 
manner which even approximates political pres- 
sure, or to meddle in any way whatsoever with 
local or national governmental policies are 
temptations which, if yielded to, may do irre- 
parable harm to the missionary cause. Only 
by the utmost care in these things can mission- 
aries make clear to non-Christian people that 
they are not the advance guard of western 
civilization or imperialism or big business, but 
private citizens who have come in the spirit of 





*Hendrick: Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, II, Page 71. 
26 


friendship and equality to bring them Jesus 
Christ. Special mention should be made of the 
importance of recognizing the rising spirit of 
nationality and race-consciousness in the non- 
Christian world. This is immensely changing 
the situation in some countries. Missionaries 
may deplore some acts resulting from this spirit, 
but they should perceive that it is the index of 
an inevitable process pointing towards a better 
world, and should recognize the high ideals in- 
volved, with full sympathy towards sincere 
leaders in new movements. Friendships with 
individual nationals are of great assistance in 
gaining a full understanding of this difficult 
problem. 


The supreme test of the attitude of mission- 
aries to non-Christian people comes when they 
actually present the Gospel to them. It is dif- 
ficult enough to live as foreigners in a country ; 
it is far more difficult to introduce Christianity 
into that country so that it will not seem an 
alien religion and an impertinence. Thus it is 
that the method of controversy is being used 
less and less in dealing with non-Christian re- 
ligions. One need not fear to show full respect 
for the good in other religions if one follows it 
up with a positive presentation of Jesus Christ 
and His incomparable Gospel. Such a method 
leaves little room for argument, and non-Chris- 
tian listeners will draw their own comparisons 
between Jesus and the founders of their re- 
ligions. 

To present Jesus Christ adequately to non- 
Christians, the utmost care and tact should be 
used. Without tact evangelistic zeal will have 


Pa 


little or no fruit. A striking illustration of this 
is found in a story which Dr. H. H. Jessup of 
Syria used to tell about an English clergyman 
who came to that country years ago to preach 
to Moslems. He hired one Abdullah as an in- 
terpreter, and in spite of warnings that he might 
be mobbed went to the bazaar to preach. Mount- 
ing a platform, he said: ‘My friends, I have 
come to preach to you the Gospel of Christ. 
He that believeth shall be saved, and he that 
believeth not shall be condemned.” Abdullah 
translated: “He says that he loves you very 
much, and that the English and the Moslems 
are all alike.” Whereupon the Moslems ap- 
plauded, and the preacher thought he had made 
a deep impression. Later when Abdullah was 
reproved for deceiving so good a man, he re- 
plied: “Had I translated literally, we should 
have been killed. He may have been prepared 
to die, but I was not.”* As a summary of the 
full Gospel, Abdullah’s translation leaves much 
to be desired, but as an approach to non-Chris- 
tians it is a far better model than his master’s. 
In all the dealings of missionaries with the 
non-Christian community they must be ever 
mindful that “love melts what a hammer cannot 
break.” 


2. The Indigenous Church. The relationship 
between the missionary and the indigenous 
Church differs greatly in various fields. In some 
Missions where the work is in its initial stages 
the problems are simple; in others where the 
Church is large and well-developed they are 
very complex. Dr, Arthur J. Brown’s chapter 





*Quoted in Brown: The Foreign Missionary, Page 287. 
28 


on the subject in “The Foreign Missionary” is 
a fine analysis of the principles involved. Here 
it is only necessary to point out certain attitudes 
with which the new missionary must approach 
this relationship if he wishes to participate in 
it wisely. In the first place, the missionary 
must never lose sight of the fact that his work 
is temporary while the indigenous Church will 
be permanent. The Church will increase, but 
the missionary must decrease and finally elim- 
inate himself entirely. Hospital and school 
buildings and complex missionary organizations 
tend to obscure this fact, but it must ever be 
clearly before the missionary’s mind, and he 
should not allow himself to act as though its 
consummation were far distant. Along with 
this should go a constant attitude of willingness 
to give as much authority into the control of 
the Church as it can assume. The Church may 
be over-confident in this respect, but on the 
whole it is better for it to fall sometimes at first 
than to lean so heavily on the missionaries that 
it loses the power to learn to walk alone. Finally, 
the missionary must maintain a consistent atti- 
tude of love and comradeship towards his native 
Christian brothers. If his inheritance and ex- 
perience have made him wiser in spiritual mat- 
ters, he should be very humble about it. He 
should be able to give advice without paternal- 
ism, to exercise control without domination. 
Above all he must trust his brothers in the 
Church. Only with such an attitude on the 
part of missionaries can native Christians ever 
grow to feel that the Church is theirs, theirs 
to govern, to support, and to cherish in a bound- 
less growth. 


29 


3. The Foreign Colony. Nearly all mission- 
aries have another relationship to maintain, 
that with fellow-Americans and other foreign- 
ers who are stationed in the mission land. These 
may be in diplomatic service, in the employ of 
the native government, or representatives of 
business enterprises. Oftentimes the missionary 
is first thrown with them on shipboard as he 
goes to the field. This initial contact is of great 
importance and new missionaries need to be 
extremely careful not to give the impression of 
over-frivolity on the one hand or of fanaticism 
on the other. The tendency of missionaries to 
keep to themselves on board ship can be easily 
overdone. Many of the stock stories of globe- 
trotters and others which censure missionary 
work have arisen as a result of these journey 
contacts, and the missionaries have not always 
been impeccable in such cases. A sea voyage 
is an excellent place to show that Christianity 
produces normal, friendly personalities. 

On the field it is often very easy for mission- 
aries to ignore other foreign residents, and to 
take it for granted that they are not in sympathy 
with missionary work. As a matter of fact, 
any effort made to keep up a friendly inter- 
course will usually bring its reward. Mission- 
aries who are thrown with other newcomers in 
the language schools have a rich opportunity 
to make clear the real missionary purpose and 
to win respect. A tactful effort to see to it 
that the foreign colony inspects and understands 
mission work will prevent many unfair criti- 
cisms from coming back to the home Church. 
A friendly relationship does not mean that the 
missionaries need be social butterflies or need 


30 


neglect their work. It is conceivable that they 
themselves may be helped; certainly they can 
bring happiness to many lonely souls and may 
exert a powerful spiritual influence, by personal 
contact and formal religious services, on men 
and women who live under a terrible moral 
strain. The first duty of missionaries may be 
to people of another race, yet they must not be 
blind to the opportunity to win those of their 
own race to Jesus Christ, and to an appreciation 
of missionary work. 


VIII. THE MISSIONARY AND 
THE BOARD 


The thousands of miles which separate the 
missionary from the Board may seem to make 
a complete and sympathetic understanding be- 
tween the two a difficult thing to maintain. Un- 
less new missionaries go out with the determi- 
nation to keep clearly in mind what they know 
to be true, that the Board members and officers 
are conscientious and fair-minded men and 
women who are ceaselessly endeavoring to pro- 
mote the work and the welfare of the mission- 
aries, they are likely to drift into the attitude 
that the Board is indifferent, or even that it 
obstructs their plans for progress. It is easy 
to form the habit of carping at the Board at 
the slightest provocation, but the missionary 
who does so usually limits his own happiness 
and usefulness. On the other hand, he who 
from the very beginning adopts an attitude of 
consistent loyalty to the Board has learned one 
of the great secrets of happy missionary ser- 


31 


vice. He does not forget that the Board’s rules 
are not arbitrary but represent the results of 
long experience as to the best interests of the 
work and the workers, and have been made 
in consultation between the Board and the mis- 
sionaries. 


Loyalty to the Board does not mean that 
frank protests should never be made when 
things go wrong. The Board is always ready 
to learn both sides of a controverted question, 
and a reasoned argument will always receive a 
sympathetic hearing. Letters of criticism should 
of course go to the Board and not to friends 
and supporters of the missionaries. It is well 
to remember, however, that heated and un- 
pleasant letters do more harm than good. Many 
people are tempted upon provocation to write 
in an unrestrained way to distant correspond- 
ents to whom they would be most courteous face 
to face, and the missionary is no exception. If 
such a letter must be written as a safety-valve, 
it might well be written and then destroyed. 
When sent, it merely creates a personal preju- 
dice in the mind of the recipient and the cause 
of the writer is weakened. 


The loyal missionary will, as a matter of 
course, follow the Board’s rules in regard to 
appeals for gifts, though sometimes he may 
have to refuse a special gift, or to miss an op- 
portunity while waiting for official sanction. If 
there is any question about the receipt or appli- 
cation of funds, he will write first to the Board 
for an explanation. He realizes that what seems 
to him like red tape when his special advantage 
is at stake is really the vital machinery of a 


32 


delicate organism, and that if every one reserves 
the right to break rules upon occasion, the re- 
sult will be chaos. The loyal missionary has 
too much pride also to ask for special privilege. 
He sees clearly that the circumstances surround- 
ing his furlough, for instance, though important 
to himself, are rarely sufficient grounds for 
setting aside the Board’s rules to which he 
himself has agreed. He strives against the tend- 
ency to become provincial, to seek to secure 
funds and workers for his work alone. Instead 
of the individualistic viewpoint of one mission- 
ary or of a single Mission, he learns to take the 
broad view of the Board itself as it looks out 
on all the fields, and thus holds his own task in 
the proper perspective. 

The loyal missionary will be sympathetic 
with the Board because he sees clearly that it is 
a shock absorber between the home Church and 
the field. Its ideal is to present a perfect group 
of missionaries to the home base and a com- 
pletely interested Church to the field workers. 
It bravely offers itself as the buffer in cases 
where this ideal has not been reached. The least 
that missionaries can do is to make this difficult 
task as easy as possible, to be magnanimous 
when mistakes are made, appreciative of 
achievements, and friendly always. 


IX. CONTACT WITH THE 
HOME CHURCH 


The Board acts on the principle that the re- 
lationship between its missionaries and the 
churches at home should become increasingly 
close and vital. An ideal relationship is always 


33 


an inspiration for all concerned, and a great 
impetus to the mission cause. Nothing can 
help or hinder this contact more than the char- 
acter of the correspondence between the mis- 
sionary and the supporting church or friends 
at home. Many missionaries can testify that 
letters from their churches are not as frequent 
or as numerous as could be desired, but this 
is no reason why the missionary should cease 
to write. Those at home send letters as the 
mood seizes them, but regular correspondence 
is the duty of the missionary, for it is the right 
of the Church to know what is being done on 
the field. The Board has stated intervals at 
which it expects letters to be sent home, and all 
missionaries should consider this correspond- 
ence a definite part of their work, and by no 
means the least important part. Some sugges- 
tions as to the manner and matter of these 
letters are therefore not out of place here. 


1. Be sure that the letters are written neatly 
and are correct as to spelling, grammar and 
punctuation. Such advice may seem super- 
fluous, but experience proves it to be necessary. 
Ilegible handwriting and worn out typewriter 
ribbons produce a very unfavorable impression 
at home. It is a good rule to typewrite on one 
side of a sheet only. For the honor of your 
Mission, send only carefully written letters to 
the home Church. 


2. Be careful to keep out of your letters all 
criticism of other missionaries and of the Board 
organization, and also harsh statements or ridi- 
cule of the customs and religion of the people 
among whom you work. When one feels 


34 


aggrieved or lonely it is easy to pour out one’s 
heart to friends in the home-land, but, while 
doing so, it is also easy to create impressions 
which do irreparable harm. Even when letters 
are strictly confidential, their contents have a 
way of reaching other eyes and ears, sometimes 
even finding their way into the public press. 
The most effective missionary letters are usual- 
ly those which touch lightly on the unpleasant 
things, and which give the impression of kind- 
ness, fairness and hope to all who read them. 

3. “What thou seest write and send to the 
churches.” There is no better touchstone than 
this for missionary letters. It makes letters 
vivid ; it restrains the writer from exaggeration. 
The missionary serves as the eyes of the home 
Church, and the Church is interested in what he 
has seen and done, not in hearsay and second- 
hand stories or in what he hopes will come to 
pass. The Church is eager for incidents puls- 
ing with life, not for essays on the country or 
its religion, or for statistics and outlines of 
mission policy. In short, the Church wants 
facts. It is really no contradiction of what has 
been said in the paragraph above to state that 
when facts demand it the missionary should 
make a wise presentation of knotty problems or 
even of discouraging conditions on the field. 
Such fair statements are not only due the 
Church, but are a great help to intelligent prayer 
at home. If the missionary writes about only 
what he has seen, he need not fear that he can 
keep the proper balance between over-optimistic 
letters and those which, on the other hand, tell 
only the dark side of mission work. 

As to accuracy, one writer on the subject has 


35 


stated the case most clearly as follows: “No 
man faces greater temptations to careless state- 
ments than a missionary. Just a little coloring 
of facts, just a little padding of figures, just a 
little liberty with the story would make it so 
much more dramatic. And the cause is so 
needy. And the good story would bring more 
money. Over the desk of every missionary 
should hang this motto, ‘Tell the truth,’ and 
underneath might be inscribed, ‘In this sign, 
conquer.’ ’’* 


4. The scope of this booklet does not include 
the furlough period, but if furlough talks and 
addresses are to have life, missionaries cannot 
wait for the homeward voyage to prepare them. 
Careful notes should be taken throughout the 
first term, notes with detail enough to bring 
back to memory not only the facts involved 
but the context as well. In making such notes 
and in preparing the actual addresses, it is well 
for the missionary to visualize at least three 
types in his future audience: an American who 
knows little or nothing about his work, a fel- 
low-missionary who knows all about it, and a 
critical national of the mission land. If the 
address can satisfy all these, it will be inform- 
ing and truthful, and also fair enough to pre- 
vent the speaker from becoming embroiled in 
international complications or being unjust to 
absent friends. With these safeguards, he can 
speak vigorously and fearlessly concerning the 
needs of his mission field and the progress of 
the Gospel there. 





*George A. Miller: Missionary Morale, Page 108. 
36 


X. TEMPTATIONS OF THE 
MISSIONARY 


The missionary, like every one else, has his 
temptations, some of which are especially potent 
because of the peculiar nature of his work. All 
of them represent a departure from the life of 
perfect balance which our Lord exemplified, 
and He alone can keep His missionaries close 
to that golden mean of life which will enable 
them to do work unmarred by human frailties. 
At the risk of some repetition it is well to men- 
tion here a few special temptations of the mis- 
sionary. 


1. Strange to say, one of the most insidious 
of missionary temptations is laziness, or at least 
futility. There are some members of every 
Mission who are drones, whose contribution to 
the progress of the work is, in the last analysis, 
negligible. In mission lands, more than at home, 
it is easy to spend one’s energy in keeping 
the machinery going, so to speak, without put- 
ting it to work. Life is more leisurely, the 
very climate often tends towards lassitude, do- 
mestic duties can consume much precious time 
for both men and women, interruptions and 
distractions are countless, and the result is that 
the days slip by without anything accomplished. 
New missionaries should keep summoning 
energy for their tasks, should never let the web 
of listlessness enmesh them. 


“Time worketh; let me work, too. 
Time undoeth ; let me do. 
Busy as time, my work I ply 
Till I rest in the rest of eternity.” 


37 


2. At the other extreme is the temptation to 
do too much. More often this takes the form 
of trying to do too many things at once. Alert 
missionaries are likely to be overwhelmed by 
the enormous task before them, and to under- 
take so many lines of work that they do nothing 
well or else break down in health before defi- 
nite results are obtained. Lack of system 1s 
often the cause of this trouble, and is also a 
contributing factor in the temptation mentioned 
above. One should put into effect the motto: 
“Plan your work; then work your plan.” Plans 
might be made for a month or a year and then 
narrowed down to a smaller unit. It is also 
well to form the habit of standing off from one’s 
task to get the right perspective and then to 
throw all one’s. powers into what is really of 
most importance. Learn to “put first things 
first.” 


3. Another thing to guard against is the 
temptation to live one’s missionary life without 
a close connection with the life of the country. 
Missionaries, as has been said, cannot live ex- 
actly like nationals, but they can become a vital 
part of their lives. They must gear in with the 
people whom they serve. Many failings tend 
to prevent this, such as an indifference to the 
customs and proprieties of the country, an in- 
ability to understand those whose ways are dif- 
ferent, and most of all, a lack of love. The re- 
sult is a thing apart, a missionary plant which 
is “in,” but not “of,” the country, and mission- 
aries who cannot touch hearts because they are 
detached and aloof from them. In fighting this 
tendency, new missionaries must determine to 


38 


love the new land and its ways, to make warm 
friendships among its people, and, as far as in 
them lies, to “be all things to all men.” 


4. At the other extreme again is meddlesome- 
ness. It is a temptation in almost all the rela- 
tionships which have been mentioned. It is 
hard for missionaries to avoid giving undesired 
advice to fellow-workers, to resist commenting 
on the private affairs of others, to withhold 
criticism of some native custom seemingly. so 
inferior to their own, to refrain from setting 
the indigenous Church straight when it tries to 
govern itself, especially when they are intensely 
interested in all these things and really want to 
help. Only a wise tolerance and a determina- 
tion to mind their own business though the 
heavens fall can keep missionaries unscathed 
amid countless temptations to be the regulators 
of their little world. 


5. The temptation to a loss of spirituality has 
already been discussed. Idealistic pictures of 
the missionary life are sometimes rather rudely 
shattered after arrival on the field. It is found 
to be commonplace in some respects, often 
monotonous as to details, just another part of 
this work-a-day world. The seemingly mechan- . 
ical duties of language study, of school and hos- 
pital, of church administration, tend to crowd 
out the higher spiritual things. When this 
temptation comes, as it will, it is time to relight 
the life with the abiding glory of the presence 
of Christ. 


6. Even this last temptation has its counter- 
part. Missionaries are often tempted, perhaps 


39 


because of their isolation, to lose their spiritual 
balance by overemphasis on special points. It 
is easy to ride some doctrinal hobby, or to 
propagate some one phase of Christianity to the 
neglect of others equally important. The vaga- 
ries and impulses of an infant Church will lead 
the missionary astray unless he is extremely 
careful. For the Church and for his own sake 
the missionary must be watchful to avoid fads 
and fanaticism, and intolerant insistence on 
minor points. He must live and teach a Gospel 
which is sane and well-balanced, and which 
gives full play to the inexhaustible content of 
the Christian faith. 


7. The root of all these temptations is selfish- 
ness. It comes to missionaries in a form which 
is often difficult to recognize. As Dr. J. Walter 
Lowrie of China has put it: “Selfishness may 
manifest itself as much in zeal for my denomi- 
nation, my creed, my Mission, and my work, as 
in any other way. It is exactly as easy to be 
narrow, obstinate, selfish, and unchristian for 
any or for all of these, as for myself indi- 
vidually.’* When tempted by selfishness in 
this larger sense, it is comparatively easy for 
the missionary to persuade himself that his own 
selfish way of doing a thing is really God’s way, 
and thus never realize his sin. The antidotes 
are a constant and merciless testing of motives 
by the standards of Jesus Christ, and a life com- 
pletely given over to His control. 





*Quoted in Arthur H. Smith: A Manual for Young Mis- 
sionaries, Page 110. 


40 


XI. THE MAIN TASK 


It cannot be too much emphasized that the 
main task of the missionary is to make Jesus 
Christ known. This, of course, is the only ex- 
cuse for foreign missions, and yet the evan- 
gelistic purpose ‘needs constantly to be stressed 
in order that it may be kept uppermost. In the 
first place, the present day policy of specialized 
mission work is likely to give the impression 
that the evangelistic work is the province of one 
department. It cannot be too often reiterated 
that all missionary work is evangelistic. Med- 
ical missionaries cannot lean upon evangelists 
for the religious work in their hospitals; in 
fact, the outstanding missionary hospitals are 
those where doctors and nurses are their own 
evangelists. School teachers must constantly 
resist the tendency to devote all their time to 
secular education. They are not in the country 
primarily for that purpose. The principal of a 
conspicuously successful boys’ school in one of 
the most intolerant mission fields in the world 
has gradually relinquished all secular subjects 
to assistants and native teachers, but himself 
teaches the Bible to all, from the little boys up 
to the graduating class. It is not necessary that 
every missionary be able to preach sermons in 
the vernacular, but every missionary ought to 
be ready at all times to speak for Jesus Christ, 
always buttressing his words with the powerful 
message of a Christlike life. Nothing short of 
this should be the ideal of every new mission- 
ary for himself and his Mission. 


A second reason for the need to stress the 
main task is the inevitable tendency for insti- 


41 


tutions to absorb the direct evangelistic work- 
ers. Granted that all types of workers have an 
active share in evangelism, still there must al- 
ways be some with the specific duty of preach- 
ing and of church work. But, since schools and 
hospitals must be kept open and the business of 
the Mission cannot lapse, evangelists are con- 
stantly being called on to do the work of as- 
sociates who are sick or on furlough. An itin- 
erating trip can be postponed ; the little churches 
can shift for themselves awhile. The result is 
that the all-important building of the Church of 
Christ too often lags, and golden opportunities 
are lost. It is impossible to avoid some shifting 
of burdens in times of emergency, but it is well 
for new missionaries to go to the field deter- 
mined to do all in their power to see to it that 
the main task is never lost sight of and that the 
direct preaching of the Gospel goes on at all 
costs. 


XII. THE ABUNDANT LIFE 


The necessity of pointing out the difficulties 
of missionaries in the preceding pages may 
have created in the minds of some the feeling 
that the missionary life is merely a series of pit- 
falls to be avoided. It is, therefore, well to 
state most emphatically that, if any life in this 
world is the abundant life, it is the life of the 
missionary. Its very difficulties make it a 
superb experience for those who overcome 
them. In addition it has rare privileges which 
make it unique among forms of Christian ser- 
vice. One of the choicest of these is the bond 
of friendship among missionaries. There is 
small wonder that little groups of men and 


42 


women who share all the experiences of life, 
who have one common purpose and are united 
in one great work, should be bound together as 
the years pass, and it is not strange, therefore, 
that the world does not know truer or more 
lasting friendships than are found on the mis- 
sion field. These friendships oftentimes are 
not confined to the missionary group, but reach 
out to include brothers and sisters of the in- 
digenous Church in an intimacy which gives the 
lie to those who claim that differences of race 
and color are insuperable. 


Then the missionary lives the abundant life 
because his is a multiplied life. The task is so 
varied and its demands so taxing that great 
talents are magnified and obscure ones devel- 
oped amazingly. Nowhere else can life be in- 
vested at a higher rate of interest; nowhere can 
every capability be put to work in more fruit- 
ful service. 


Again, the missionary has the satisfaction 
of feeling that he is building for the ages. 
Though temporary conditions may seem dis- 
couraging, he has the vision which sees a Chris- 
tian social order growing out of his schools and 
hospitals, unselfish leaders who will mold na- 
tions emerging from among his pupils, and a 
mighty Church which will change the world 
built up from the redeemed souls whom he has 
helped to bring to Jesus Christ. His is an 
abundant life who can be thus sure of the eter- 
nity of his achievements. 


Finally, the missionary, as perhaps no one 
else, is constantly being thrown back upon the 


43 


everlasting arms of God. His isolation, his 
lack of material resources, the apparent im- 
possibility of his task, all these things teach him 
that utter dependence upon God which is one of 
the chief lessons of life. The Father becomes 
very real to him, the Lord Jesus walks with him, 
the power of the Spirit takes hold of him and 
his work. He can repeat with full meaning for 
himself the words of the shepherd poet: “Thou 
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth 
over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow 
me all the days of my life.” 


NOTES 


45 


NOTES 


NOTES 


47 


NOTES 


48 








